Nationwide — Teachers across America have adapted their classrooms since the beginning of the pandemic, and with the back-to-school season in full swing, teachers are once again adjusting to their state’s mandates.
The coronavirus pandemic has helped many of us realize just how valuable our nation’s teachers are, but is that value always reflected in their pay?
Business.org conducted a deep dive into the stats to see which states offer K–12 teachers the best pay compared to other full-time workers in their area. Here’s what they found.
While teachers generally make lower wages, educators in six states: New York, California, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Alaska, and Iowa, actually make more than the average for other occupations in their area.
Iowa ranks 6th in the nation for average teacher pay at $58,140, just above the average earnings for full-time year-round workers for the state pay of $58,014.
To determine the rankings, Business.org compared each state’s average K–12 teaching salary, pulled from the National Education Center’s 2018–2019 school year data, to its average salary for full-time, year-round employees, found in the US Census Bureau’s annual American Community Survey.
This means their 2020 rankings factor in the total average pay for teachers in each state (as opposed to our 2019 rankings, which considered only starting salaries). This change caused states with higher salary caps to rise significantly in the rankings, while states with low salary caps tended to fall.
Business.org also included data on how each state’s teacher compensation has increased or decreased within the past 20 years, according to the National Education Center.
For the complete report from business.org CLICK HERE
| State | Average teacher salary | Average earnings, full-time year-round workers | Teacher salary % more or less than average | % change since 2010 | % change since 2018 |
| 1—New York | $85,889 | $77,058 | 11.50% | 2.60% | -0.10% |
| 2—California | $82,282 | $75,407 | 9.10% | 3.20% | -0.10% |
| 3—Pennsylvania | $68,141 | $65,346 | 4.30% | -1.40% | -1.20% |
| 4—Vermont | $61,027 | $59,416 | 2.70% | 6.40% | -1.30% |
| 5—Alaska | $70,277 | $68,781 | 2.20% | 0.80% | -1.20% |
| 6—Iowa | $58,140 | $58,014 | 2.00% | 0.30% | -0.10% |
| 7—Oregon | $64,385 | $64,401 | 0.00% | -0.20% | 0.00% |
| 8—Rhode Island | $67,040 | $67,216 | -0.30% | -3.90% | -1.60% |
| 9—Hawaii | $59,757 | $60,432 | -1.10% | -7.10% | 1.20% |
| 10—Michigan | $61,825 | $62,736 | -1.50% | -8.70% | -2.20% |
| 11—Massachusetts | $82,042 | $83,898 | -2.20% | 1.30% | 0.00% |
| 12—Washington | $72,965 | $74,808 | -2.50% | 17.80% | 28.40% |
| 13—Montana | $54,034 | $55,401 | -2.50% | 1.10% | 0.30% |
| 14—Delaware | $62,308 | $63,906 | -2.50% | -6.60% | -1.20% |
| 15—Wyoming | $58,618 | $60,252 | -2.70% | -10.20% | -1.60% |
| 16—Maine | $54,974 | $56,522 | -2.70% | 2.00% | 0.10% |
| 17—Arkansas | $51,019 | $53,460 | -4.60% | -6.50% | -1.10% |
| 18—Kentucky | $53,434 | $56,076 | -4.70% | -7.70% | -1.10% |
| 19—Ohio | $57,799 | $60,707 | -4.80% | -11.60% | -2.40% |
| 20—Oklahoma | $52,412 | $55,202 | -5.10% | -6.00% | 10.90% |
| 21—Illinois | $66,600 | $70,680 | -5.80% | -8.20% | -0.70% |
| 22—Nebraska | $54,506 | $58,131 | -6.20% | 0.90% | -1.50% |
| 23—Nevada | $54,280 | $58,713 | -7.60% | -9.80% | -2.00% |
| 24—Georgia | $57,137 | $55,202 | -7.90% | -7.90% | -0.60% |
| 25—Tennessee | $56,567 | $51,714 | -8.60% | -4.40% | -0.50% |
| 26—Maryland | $70,463 | $77,139 | -8.70% | -5.70% | -0.90% |
| 27—West Virginia | $47,681 | $52,303 | -8.80% | -11.20% | 2.30% |
| 28—North Carolina | $53,975 | $59,209 | -8.80% | -1.40% | 3.20% |
| 29—Mississippi | $45,574 | $50,027 | -8.90% | -14.60% | -0.60% |
| 30—Alabama | $50,810 | $55,898 | -9.10% | -8.60% | -1.60% |
| 31—South Carolina | $50,395 | $55,531 | -9.20% | -0.00092 | -1.60% |
| 32—South Dakota | $48,786 | $53,853 | -9.40% | 7.50% | 0.30% |
| 33—Idaho | $50,757 | $56,440 | -10.10% | -6.20% | 1.00% |
| 34—Louisiana | $50,923 | $56,791 | -10.30% | -10.90% | -0.90% |
| 35—Connecticut | $76,465 | $85,764 | -10.80% | 1.70% | 0.50% |
| 36—New Mexico | $47,826 | $53,094 | -11.30% | -11.50% | -0.60% |
| 37—Indiana | $50,937 | $57,437 | -11.30% | -12.80% | -1.40% |
| 38—North Dakota | $53,434 | $61,702 | -13.40% | 6.40% | -0.90% |
| 39—Texas | $54,155 | $62,720 | -13.70% | -4.00% | 0.50% |
| 40—Missouri | $50,064 | $58,145 | -13.90% | -5.50% | -0.50% |
| 41—Wisconsin | $51,453 | $60,348 | -14.70% | -14.40% | -2.10% |
| 42—Minnesota | $58,221 | $69,045 | -15.70% | -5.00% | -1.30% |
| 43—New Jersey | $70,212 | $83,250 | -15.90% | -7.70% | -1.60% |
| 44—Kansas | $49,800 | $59,743 | -16.60% | -8.70% | -1.90% |
| 45—Florida | $48,395 | $58,254 | -16.90% | -11.30% | -1.60% |
| 46—Arizona | $49,892 | $60,060 | -16.90% | -9.10% | 0.30% |
| 47—New Hampshire | $58,146 | $72,025 | -19.30% | -3.30% | -1.50% |
| 48—Utah | $50,342 | $63,026 | -20.10% | -6.10% | -0.70% |
| 49—District of Columbia | $78,477 | $99,557 | -21.20% | 4.00% | 0.50% |
| 50—Colorado | $53,301 | $69,338 | -23.10% | -7.30% | -0.70% |
| 51—Virginia | $52,466 | $72,833 | -28.00% | -10.20% | -1.10% |
